* '''Hotel Karthik''' has double rooms at 370rs and single at 200rs. Air conditioned rooms cost 600rs. This is somewhat old hotel and cleanliness is about 3 on the scale of 5, but it is just a 5 minute walk away from Bridhadeeswara Temple and 10 minute walk from the palace. Has a restaurant in the ground floor where food is good south Indian vegetarian cuisine.

* '''Hotel Karthik''' has double rooms at 370rs and single at 200rs. Air conditioned rooms cost 600rs. This is somewhat old hotel and cleanliness is about 3 on the scale of 5, but it is just a 5 minute walk away from Bridhadeeswara Temple and 10 minute walk from the palace. Has a restaurant in the ground floor where food is good south Indian vegetarian cuisine.

Revision as of 07:27, 26 April 2010

Brahadeshwara temple in Thanjavur

Thanjavur (or 'Thanjai' or 'Tanjore') is 342 km from Chennai the capital of the state Tamil Nadu, India. Thanjai is considered to be the granary and 'rice bowl' of Tamil Nadu. It is the district headquarters by the same name.

Pronounce : Than-jaa-voor.
It is sometime referred as Tanjavur (wrong) or Thanjavoor.

Contents

Understand

Thanjavur thrived as the ancient capital of the Chola kingdom, later of Marathas and Nayaks. Thanjavur was at the height of its glory during the Chola period between the 10th and the 14th century and became a great centre of learning and culture.

The important landmark in Thanjavur is the great Brahadeeswara Temple also known as the Big Temple, it was built by Raja Raja Chola - I. It is one of the most magnificent piece of South Indian temple architecture. Established in 1011 AD in celebration of victory of Chola kingdom that extended till Ceylon and some parts of the Malaya archipelago. Now it is a world heritage site.

Even today Thanjavur is not only considered as the rice bowl of tamil nadu but also as a cultural head quarters. Though the Thanjavur district is dominated by agriculture, the town is diverse in its own, Having a literacy percentage of more that 75% and a homogenous mix of population of all religions.

Get in

By plane

Nearest airport is Tiruchirapally. There are direct flights from Chennai

By rail

Thanjavur is also reachable by train from other Indian cities. 'Thanjavur Junction' is the station to alight. There are daily trains from/to Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and to all main cities. For train timings and on-line reservations (within India) visit the IRCTC's website.

By bus

There are several state and private buses that ply daily from Mannargudi,Pattukkottai, Kumbakonam, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchy. The journey from Bangalore and Chennai takes about 9 hours and there are over-night buses. Some buses (from Madurai or Trichy) arrive at Thanjavur a the new bus stand located at 3 km from the center. There you can take another bus for the center for Rs. 4, you can ask for the "old bus stand".

Get around

Auto Rickshaws - negotiate a rate with the driver beforehand. Any Place with in city doesn't cost more than 40 rupees and minimum is 20 rupees.

Tourist Cabs - Are the best choice in case you want to tour the temples around Thanjavur. Drivers don't follow a fixed method for charging. But its wise to negotiate at least the rates that are applicable in Chennai

Cycle rickshaws - Though not popular among the locals, foreign travellers usually hire cycle rickshaws to go around Thanjavur. One can inquire the hotel's service desk for help.

See

Brihadeshwara Temple

Brihadishwara Temple (Rajarajeswaram or Big Temple), Hopital road (Behind old bus stand). This is the most important place to see in Thanjavur. This is a must see. One can enjoy the architecture of the whole temple and also the cute little garden on the temple's backyard. The temple is dedicated to Shiva, hundreds of lingam are in the pillared cloister.Free entrance.

Palace & Saraswathi Mahal Library - Possesses very old manuscripts mostly in Tamil and Sanskrit. The library is situated inside the Saraboji Palace which contains many rare paintings depicting various Indian cities during the reign of King Saraboji.

Palace tower

Siva Ganga Garden - A cute little park sandwiched between the Brihadeshwara Temple and the Schwartz Church. There are children playing area at the heart of the park and it is very pleasant to watch the innocent laughs and smile. The park has a cute little train and also a theppakulam ( a temple in the middle of pond). Boating is also available in the pond.

Art Gallery, East main road (Inside the palace). 09:00-13:00 and 15:00-18:00 (closed on holidays). Art exposition of bronzes and statues of the Chola period. The ticket gives also access to a construction of the palace with a nice view on the town.Entrance: Rs. 30 for foreigners, Rs. 7 for Indians..

Sangeetha Mahal

Schwartz Church - This church was constructed by Rev. Schwartz more than 200 ago. Though there is nothing much great about the artistic work, the church is still operational under the CSI Trichy-Tanjore Diocease. It is good to attend the morning service which is conducted in English, every Sunday at 7:00am.

Navagraha Temple Tour Route Map

Here is the link to temple route map for the travellers visiting Navagraha temples in Tamilnadu.
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Do

Buy

Thanjavur is famous for its 'Thanjavur dancing doll' (Thanjavur thalai attu bommai), Tanjore Paintings (Lord Krishna paintings are the best) and Tanjore art plates (Lord Balaji are the best).

There is an outlet inside the palace where old and new art works are sold. You can pay with your credit card too.

There is a Phoompuhar art Gallery, which exhibits and sell wide range of artistic bronze idols, Thanjavur paintings and artistic plates.Its been a hot spot for the foreign travellers.

Eat

Budget

Vasantha Bhavan, (Old bus stand), ☎+91-9944216666. Very good traditionnal vegetarian restaurant. The morning, delicious dosa or idly are served and for the lunch, the thali is served on a banana leaf.Rs. 35 for the thali.

Mid-range

Raja's curry, Court road, ☎+91-4362270007. Very good veg, non-veg and halal restaurant. Inidan and Chinese food.Rs. 40 for the thali.

Hotel Sangamam

Sathars, Gandhiji road. They are good at Mughal dishes but basically all the curries taste the same. Very rich oily gravies. Try this out if you are not too worried about your waist line!Rs. 50-100 for a curry.

Thevars- The best biriyani in town

Dheen garden - The only place where you can get grilled chicken. The food is decent. Tandoori chicken is delicious and the portion they serve is very good. Check out their murthapa.

Drink

Banam bub, Srinivasam Pillai Road (Oriental Towers). 11 am - 11 pm.

Sleep

Sangam Pub, Hotel Sangam.

Budget

Hotel Karthik has double rooms at 370rs and single at 200rs. Air conditioned rooms cost 600rs. This is somewhat old hotel and cleanliness is about 3 on the scale of 5, but it is just a 5 minute walk away from Bridhadeeswara Temple and 10 minute walk from the palace. Has a restaurant in the ground floor where food is good south Indian vegetarian cuisine.

Mid-range

Hotel Sangam - Near Ramanadhan Hospital

Hotel Ramnath, South Rampart (Old bus stand), ☎+91-4362272567 (fax: +91-4362271139). checkin: 24 hours. Between the Big temple and the palace, it allows to walk to all major attractions of the town. Clean and modern it offer a good price quality ratio. A/C and non-A/C rooms are available with TV and hot water.from Rs. 500 to 900 (and Rs. 100 tax).